The Flood Relief Operations Command will next week consider when it should disband now that the general flood situation in most provinces has improved, Justice Minister and Froc director Pracha Promnok says.
He said the Froc will assess its flood response role next week and consider when the command can be dissolved as it now appears its primary task of emergency response is no longer necessary.
From now on, the next stage would be one of flood recovery, with a committee appointed to oversee rehabilitation and compensation measures, Pol Gen Pracha said.
He said he will meet Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra today along with the governors of seven provinces that remain flooded in parts to find ways to help flood victims and to speed up drainage of their communities.
Pol Gen Pracha expects Vibhavadi Rangsit Road will reopen for traffic in the next few days as almost the entire length of the road surface has dried out.
He said efforts are being made to dismantle the big bag flood barrier in tambon Lak Hok of Pathum Thani's Muang district. More heavy machinery will be brought in to help with the work.
The remaining stretch of the big bag wall at Sai Mai district and the right-hand side of tambon Lak Hok should be pulled down soon afterwards, Pol Col Pracha said.
"The general situation has now improved, although the drainage of fetid, stagnant floodwater in areas that have been flooded for a long time is a concern," he said.
MR Sukhumbhand yesterday said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration had sent a letter to the Froc, asking for a meeting to discuss plans to raise or lower the sluice gates along Khlong Maha Sawat in an effort to ease the hardship of the flood-affected people living in the area.
The move is in compliance with an order issued by the Administrative Court.
The governor also said City Hall has raised three sluice gates higher in eastern Bangkok to help drain floodwater in Pathum Thani.
MR Sukhumbhand said authorities have raised the sluice gate at Phraya Suren canal from 1.4 metres to 1.5m, the gate at Saen Saep canal in Min Buri district from 1.3m to 1.5m and the gate at Bung Kwang canal from 1.2m to 1.3m.
Water levels in various affected canals had dropped steadily, he said.
The BMA yesterday increased its collections of waste deposited by the flooding, up from the average 8,500 tonnes a day to 12,000 tonnes.
Bangkok and provincial officials together with volunteers will start collecting waste in nine flood-affected districts this weekend, before His Majesty the King's 84th birthday on Monday, he added.
The Froc yesterday said the eastern areas of Bangkok would be back to normal early next week.
The floodwater in several areas of the east had already receded, except in a few low-lying areas.
The Froc would provide additional water pumps to these areas to rapidly drain out the water.
It is expected that the areas would be dry by this Monday, the Froc added.
Veera Wongsaengnak, chairman of the Froc's Water Draining Committee which is responsible for drying out the western part of the capital, said the draining of about 2 billion cubic metres of remaining northern runoff from the western areas would take about 20 days.
Of the total, 600 million cu/m would be managed for farm usage in nearby areas and the remaining 1.4 billion cu/m would be drained out at a rate 70 million cu/m a day.
The northern floods will be channelled out to the sea through the Tha Chin River and take 20 days to complete, Mr Veera, former deputy chief of the Royal Irrigation Department, said.
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